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117. Transhumanism
🕑 Added 2023-12-21 08:41:33 +0000 UTCMiles stared at the unblinking twin silver stars that were his Father’s eyes, all the courage he had been building up wavering as hesitation began to bubble inside him. The sudden disappearance of Eywa in a flash of teleportation gave space and helped in relieving the boy's tension but alas it wasn't in any meaningful manner.
“Dad I-I…”, he mumbled, it was as if his carefully crafted speech escaped his mind or was getting distorted into gibberish, and uncertainty began to fill his body, as the words tangled painfully in his throat.
“Tell me, son. It is obvious you require something, tell me, and I will not get angry. You can speak, I know you have much on your heart.”, Liam said calmly, squatting down to Miles’ eyes level, his face amidst his roguish features soft and reassuring.
However for the Homo Deus that was not necessary. He could simulate the entire conversation and know in advance far before words flowed out of Miles’ mouth. Even then he could read the mind of the teen by observing the bioelectrical pattern of his brain but that would not help.
The boy was one of his last anchors to humanity and treating him any other way less than he did until now because he had changed would be inadequate to the highest degree. It would be oh so easy, a flash of Argent Sea and all is fine and dandy but he didn't, wouldn't it be the same as killing a part of his son for his convenience? He didn't want to and so he didn't even by all accounts pure logic dictated it was the way but logic isn't everything and that was what made him different from a machine.
“My body… I hate it, I hate that I’m weak, my body is fragile, faulty, and limiting…”, Miles said meekly, being as blunt as theoretically possible. But it was only the beginning, and his voice gained in power and zeal as he continued.
“I can't even walk outside without great assistance or I will die, I can't even be with Kiri without assistance because of my body! And the future! What is my purpose if I won't even be of help in the coming conflict?! Should I stay and observe other fights while I stay as a waste of your and everyone's time and resources? Without the Mek I’m utterly useless, a piece of meat and bone! And even then this body is stopping me from reaching what I can with it! It's a curse, from deep in my genes, I can't even be your true son, I-I want to change it… I don't want to be useless, I want to be great, to be able to stand by you, to be worthy of your respect and of everyone else, and not just for being your son! I want to be deserving of such a position and I can't like this! I want to be able to stand with you! But-but I can't both mentally and physically!”, he exploded, his voice both of anger, sadness, self-depreciation, and fear, words spilling out in abandon until his breathing became ragged, a fit considering how athletic he was.
After this Liam stayed silent for a good five seconds creating a long silence, there was a lot said in an instant. Some of it was true, some were false or misguided, some rational, justified in grounded reality, while some weren't, some were simply born out of this age range he was in while some more out of expectation from his acquaintance and the way he was raised.
One sentence saying all was good with encouraging words won't suffice like years ago about Miles’ biological parents, this… This was far more complex, the answer could only be found by the teen himself, there were hundreds of factors placed on top of one another to be taken into consideration.
It might have been avoided but the Homo Deus didn't want to control every micro aspect of his adopted son's life, Miles was not his property and had the right of choice and also consequences that came with it to a certain extent evidently. He was still a child, and rules needed to be set.
This aside he didn't coddle the boy, nor did he protect him from everything. It was harsh, to say but unpleasant experiences are necessary to grow. Well, as long as they weren't horrifyingly traumatic but that wasn't the case here, going into either extreme was only ever destructive unless that was what was wanted.
Liam was always here, and he helped but there was only so much one could do for a human male in the middle of puberty in this situation to stop those kinds of things without the use of extremely unethical measures. At some point, it needed to burst and Liam wasn't going to be the one to do it, it was Miles' life, not his, he was only a guiding force at the end.
He only wished Miles to think for himself and grow into his most optimal self, nothing more nothing less and that was quite the same for every human and humanity itself but his full attention was not, could not be inclusive to all sadly, and a lucky few held far more of his attention than others such as this boy.
“I hear you son, this is a lot to unpack and there is a lot to speak of but first let's wind up as I will show you what Eywa and I have been working on. But what I can say with certainty is that the choice is ultimately yours and that everything has a price for what you desire.”, Liam said massaging his son's shoulder and calming the boy down, his breathing slowing down to a more reasonable pace.
“Okay Dad…”, Miles said with a conflicted expression as he followed his Father into the laboratory, one of the rooms of the laboratory to be exact.
Truthfully, the response was one he had expected, but the fact the answer wasn't immediately clear meant it was far less simple, and childish even than he had thought. This was something he was confused about how he should feel. He was smart and could try to understand but what was the problem with making him stronger?
It would be very easy, at worst his Father could regrow parts of his body or revive him as he did with the others, what was there to worry about? And he knew the reason must be valid but that didn't he wasn't going to abandon it.
Entering only the footsteps of Miles could be heard as he passed in a room with four small TeK Teleporters, then the sound of air getting sucked out before being replaced with helium reached his ear. His belt lets him breathe and ignore the change of pressure with no harm to his person.
The wall of scintillant hexagon before Liam morphed away and a gateway to the true laboratory opened. It was a room far bigger than it had any right to be, it was as if space here did not obey any rules.
It was the opposite of empty hundreds of hard light boxes of various shapes and sizes that were present using the fill potential a three-dimensional space could give in each of them was something unique being worked on, many were connected and interacted together. There were the ones that worked within, designed drones and Liams, but they weren't clones, each and every one of them was the true one. It was just akin to a computer doing many complex tasks at once.
However, the mere thought was enough to begin a mind-splitting headache for Miles and why he didn't think of it much, it was just another eccentricity of the enigma that was his Father. And existing at multiple places at once with full mental capacity was high on the list but not at the top.
“This is a component I widely used in my creation, it's similar to muscle tissue in how it can extend and contract but also grow stronger with wear and use but it can also serve as its own support and is vastly stronger than its organic counterpart.”, Liam said stopping in front of a cylindrical container, hundreds of sinewy tissue of black and blue twitched rhythmical as various test were done on them.
“Wow… This is super cool.”, was all that Miles could say before he almost stumbled as the ground he was on was replaced by a platform of hard light and he was lifted into the sky. The utter lack of safety measures did not bother him in the slightest, it wasn't as if he didn't do far more extreme things daily, what was a few hundred meters fall anyway?
Like a personal guide in the most expansive museum, his Father spoke of everything they stopped at, from finished projects to prototypes and even the forming result of hypotheses. Each time much information was given, the things that took Miles' interest were always related to why he gathered the courage to come here.
The first was the Tek Vascular System Heart, a complex set of organs and tissues of living metal capable of serving as both a filter and recycler but also granting far more capabilities than a true vascular system all the while being very resistant and if damaged would regenerate stronger with little to no effect on it's functions. The artificial heart in the middle was not even necessary for survival as smaller ones in the form of nodules would be added all along the body.
The second, third, and fourth were tied together the third was the Tek version of lungs, digestive system, and epithelial tissue granting the ability to live in all types of air, resist a large variety of temperatures and bodily harm, grant limited shapeshifting from skin, to hair, to nail giving the option to change their colors, textures, structures, and more, then there was the ability to gather energy and nutrient from orthodox source like sunlight and sands.
“I recognize this… It's what was on your hand and what is on the chest of the ones you reanimated… I never asked but what is it?”, Miles asked, pointing at a particularly large hard light rectangle where dozens of metallic lozenges could be seen, from their back thousands of tendrils could be seen wiggling as if to grasp something that wasn't there.
“Specimen Implants contain the Engramic Matrix of dead individuals and through it, I can connect them to a new body by using those tendrils to fuse with a growing nervous system and genes. This last characteristic when the time is right would make it transferable to offspring.”, Liam said and he knew there were more questions on Miles' part, notably about the pocket dimension.
“And no, the one that I have revived does not have an inventory, it is still one of the first few designs and there is a lot to improve upon.”, Liam explained, “And this device will eventually spread to every human, even you, but not now it is not optimal for such an ambitious plan. It is far more delicate than a regular augmentation.”
More minutes passed as the both of them continued until they finally stopped at the largest hard light box, one that had been hidden by all others but in fact took easily a third of the laboratory if not more, and like everything the use of space was for someone that could move freely in the air.
This time they didn't look from the outside, and as they entered the first thing Miles saw caused him to freeze; a three and half meters (11ft5) tall humanoid suspended in the air.
Its massive frame of corded dark blue muscles protected by silvery scales created a shimmering armor, it had a pair of feet and legs covered in those same scales that were half what would appear in a human if not for the different fingers and general shape, them one leg split into deadly claws and the arm of the same side divided in two thinner each with a tridactyl hand.
Then there was the face, or lack thereof, an abyss with sparkling stars reminiscent of the aesthetic of a Tek Helmet. In fact, the entire humanoid looked like a Tek Armor given form as an organism of its own.
Miles was gobsmacked at the sight, he directly understood that this wasn't a mecha of some kind, the chassis wasn't the right shape nor size for a human to be in, at least an adult or teenager. With the size of the room and the hundreds more other models with each slight difference it showed it was very important and what his Father and Eywa had been working on, the latter was present hovering and moving her hands covered in crystals in strange ways around a strange device similar to a Specimen Implant.
It was grandiose… There was nothing that he could say, he was in awe and he knew those humanoids of Tek were going to play a key role in the incoming war. It was evident and he wanted to know all about them, such as what the Avatar of the All-Mother was doing.
“What you see Eywa doing is to put it in a few words separating the Mind and Soul parts of the Engramic Matrix while keeping the connection. This is where the ones not respawned find their uses, sacrifice for their crime to help the greater whole.”, Liam said, not needing to say much more to surprise Miles.
His son had received lessons on the subject and even if compared to Kiri he was far, far worse he knew the basics of what was said, but since he wasn't so much into it the only thing he understood was that it should be impossible however this information caused him to shift his eyes back to the hulking robot.
“Is that to put one of those two in those bodies…”, he mumbled ideas of what was going on downed onto him, what he previously learned during the visit slamming back all at once.
“Homo Invictum, that's the name I have given them, and yes Miles correct deduction, the Mind of a chosen individual will reside within this body of immense might with a virtually infinite amount of capabilities while the Soul will be kept safely under my mine or Eywa guard depending if the individual was Na’vi or human.”, Liam said, turning to focus into Miles’ eyes, his voice serious and calm.
“It's a complex process that involves the sacrifice of oneself both physically and mentally, for it is a change that cannot be reversed, it's a death in the truest sense, one necessary to be reborn anew only a great will is enough to keep oneself from losing all. Yet it grants true immortality in the form of physical death only being a temporary state. I cannot revive an individual indefinitely but them, it is different, they are our eternal army as long as I and Eywa exist. Ever growing, ever learning, and ever improving, yet a sacrifice, a price is required, no matter what, I’m no exception to this rule.”, Liam declared with a smile his attention never having shifted from his son.
“I think… I think I understand. Thank you Dad.”, Miles said with a smile and a look of determination beyond his age on his young features.
“You are welcome, son… But some wishes can still be granted, I will not take your humanity and what you Miles Cram, my son, but I can bring this statement more true than it ever will be and make you greater. If you desire you may even become one of my Pillars.”, Liam declared his voice comforting yet of cold steel, his blazing eyes burning brighter at the last part which Miles didn't understand and didn't truly pay attention to as the words before led him to embrace his Father in a hug while he felt the beginning of tears of joy trickling down his cheek.
Comments
TITOO
With the implants, I would do another poll.
Deathknight134
One of his pillars...so a Boss? Hmhmhm, interesting~ So Homo Invictums are different from the Humans with specimen implants? What are the ones with the S-implant called then if its not Homo Invictus? Are they still called Homo Sapiens? Or something else? Cuz i know the Homo Deus is merely an evolved state of the S-implant human and is thus not the same...
